Fiat 126

The blog about small and funny car Fiat-126.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Fiat 126 was not a direct replacement for the Nuova 500.

Despite beliefs to the contrary the 126 was actually designed to fill a gap between the Nuova 500 and the 127. The 500 was looking increasingly basic and was still only a 2 seater that could house 2 children in the back at a pinch. Performance was also starting to become unacceptable. Although the 500 was discontinued in some countries at the same time the 126 was introduced, in Italy there was an overlap of 3 years between the 2 cars.

The 126 drew heavily on the success of the 500, retaining the same drivetrain configuration, wheelbase, floorpan and most major mechanical components although these were all enhanced. The big difference was a new, more box-shaped, bodyshell. Despite retaining a similar width and only gaining a few inches in length the car had a lot more room inside. It was now capable of carrying 4 adults albeit in a cosy fashion. Instrumentation and trim was not much different to the 500 with just a speedometer and a fuel warning light. The engine was enlarged from 500cc to 594cc through enlarging the bore to 73.5mm. This raised peak power from 18bhp to 23bhp, and torque from 22ftlb to 29ftlb. The car was heavier than the 500, at 587kg compared to 515kg, but the power increase more than offset this. The gearbox acquired synchromesh on the upper 3 ratios. This was a contentious issue inside Fiat with the engineers not wanting to do so, but the marketing people insisting that 'women drivers were requesting it'. So, performance and people/luggage capacity were increased over the 500, but the other thing that was improved significantly was safety.
Fiat were regularly producing cars for the annual Experimental Safety Vehicle competition and the 126 drew heavily on this experience. It had crumple zones, side-protection in the doors, stiff central tunnel, square channel surrounds to the doors and collapsible steering column. The fuel tank had also been moved from the underbonnet location of the 500 to under the rear seat, close to the centre of the car. As mentioned above the 500 was still available for 3 years in Italy as the 500R and this car actually used all the running gear and floorpan of the new 126, but the engine was detuned to 18bhp.

The 126 was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in October 1972. A fleet of 126s was made available to motoring journalists so that they could experience the car in a bustling city, the ideal place for such a car. It was enthusiastically received apart from minor reservations on the styling. The similarity to the styling of the 127 was remarked upon by many, but it was nowhere near as cute as the Nuova 500, and this would be the cars downfall in later years when the 500 became a cult classic while 126s lay rotting in scrap yards. In Britain the car was launched in RHD form in July 1973. Brochures of the time featured the Metropolitan Police who had been given a car to drive non-stop for 7 days and nights around the Isle of Man TT Course. The car averaged 41mph and returned 51mpg, requiring only the adjustment of the points and timing on the final morning of the stunt.

For the next few years the car continued in basically the same guise, the 'L' and 'Sunroof' models merely having slightly different trim levels.

In 1976 the only major Fiat revision was introduced in the form of the 652cc car. The bore was increased from 73.5mm to 77.0mm giving 1bhp more and 2ftlbs more torque. The brakes were increased from 170mm diameter to 185mm diameter. The dynamo was replaced by an alternator. In the UK the car was badged DeVille and gained a 'luxury' interior at the same time. This included velour seats, carpeted floor, fully carpeted door trims and even carpet on the dashboard! For the launch the cars were filmed outside and inside the Hyde Park Hotel in London, this only being possible due to the diminutive size of the little car.

Fiat stopped production of the 126 in Italy in 1980. By this time Italy had produced 1,352,912 cars. All cars sold since that date were produced in Poland by FSM. During the period 1980-1992 FSM exported over 897,000 cars all around the world from Italy to Australia. In May 1985 the 652cc car received the engine from the Polish 650E version with higher compression ratio of 8.0:1 and revised ignition settings. The next evolution of the car was the 126 BIS introduced in 1987 and this replaced the air-cooled car in western Europe. Full details of this car can be found on the Polish History page, but essentially it gained a hatchback body by virtue of a horizontal 704cc water-cooled engine. In western europe this was the only model sold until its demise in 1992 when it was replaced by the Cinqecento.


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